This beats fighting the crowds at Costco for a 20lb bag of bland vegetables.
The things we loved about this church (at Les Invalides) is that it was so bright and clean. No musty smell, no centuries of accumulated dirt, no gothic gloom...
... and H fell in love with these pews.
Inside the dome at Les Invalides. Beneath the dome are Napoleon's ashes, contained in a massive urn. Wasn't so taken with the urn, but the dome is wonderful.
I hope he comes up with an answer soon.
Lunch at the Musee Rodin. CQH had the most amazing cream of mushroom soup any of us had ever tasted. And E ate all her sandwich.
even the little bit of cheese that temporarily doubled as a moustache.
Not ballet -- just three different takes on the same pose. These actually aren't by Rodin, but they were in the gardens of the Musee Rodin.
Musee Rodin
At the Jardins du Luxembourg we located the most charming vintage carousel. And since we'd promised the girls we would stop for any carousel (if we weren't on our way to a fixed appointment), we didn't mind taking a few minutes out of our day. We later discovered that it was built in 1879 by Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opera House, and is the oldest carousel in Paris.
The "pond" at the Jardins du Luxembourg
It's a favorite place for artists to practice their craft. This one was pretty good--in a Thomas Kinkade kind of way--but she didn't have a very French-sounding name ("Nicola Russell," according to her paint box.)
Every garden should have something this lovely to gaze on.
In Miroslav Sasek's This Is Paris he mentions these 19th-century "no posters" signs, so it was a little bit of a thrill to actually see one on a wall. I'm not sure the sign itself is any less unsightly than the posters would be, but at least it's vintage.
C and E both enjoyed the vastness of the cavernous St. Sulpice. More candles were lit.
Favorite hang-out of Hemingway, Stein, et al.
St. Germain-des-Pres was built partly in the 9th century and partly in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. We especially liked the painted walls.
Nothing says "I love Paris" like a puffy face.
I love my vicarious Parisian vacation!
ReplyDeleteI do not remember H studying French language or culture. I am so impressed by your posts in this way also.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the gothic gloom. Thank heaven for stained glass. There has always been something about having ones ashes displayed in an urn on the mantel that seems a violation of the privacy of the deceased, not to mention a terrible conversation piece. It could be just me.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much E and Q read or know Madeline, but there is a Madeline tour of Paris that includes the Luxembourg Gardens. It's a fun little tour for little girls.
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